Hellenistic and Neoteric Intertexts

In this paper I argue that the Theocritean bucolic idylls create a distinctive imaginary world that both models and invites reader participation in the creation of new episodes—fan fiction. Payne (2006) has demonstrated that Theocritus constructs a new literary space with its own setting, characters, plots, and social conventions. Fantuzzi (2006) argues that Theocritus' "cooperative readers" adhere to a "fixed series of 'constants' in setting and characters", and Bernsdorff (2006) identifies such constants in Theocritus' earliest imitators.

To understand Theocritus' seventh Idyll, one must understand Lycidas. The mysterious goatherd appears, exchanges songs with the narrator, and leaves after giving his staff as a "guest-gift of the Muses" (Id. 7.129). The encounter with Lycidas constitutes the main action of the poem, while his abrupt exit and curious gift make his presence linger over the remainder of the poem. Any reading of this poem must account for Lycidas, but consensus about this figure has been difficult to achieve. Is he a mask for a contemporary of Theocritus? (cf.

In this paper, I argue that Callimachus’ depiction of Apollo in the Hymn to Delos fits into a larger Ptolemaic rhetorical program designed to legitimize the rule of the Ptolemies in Egypt. Depicting Apollo already active in the womb mirrors traditional Egyptian imagery praising and reinforcing the authority of Egyptian pharaohs, who are described as ruling before their birth. This imagery is widely attested throughout Egyptian history, but we have a contemporary example on the Mendes Stela (CG 22181= Urk.

Salty Sequences in Catullus and Meleager

In Virgil’s poetry, nomina are often omina. In this paper, I show how Virgil’s first three character-names—Tityrus, Amaryllis, Meliboeus—contribute to the formation of their individual characters, their poem’s plot, and Virgil’s programmatic interests. Recent scholarship has demonstrated Virgil’s care in assembling bucolica nomina (Rumpf 1999) and frequent use of word-play (Ahl 1985; O’Hara 1996; Katz 2008).